Insider Food Secrets from CNT Writers and Editors

Road-tested tips for snagging in-demand tables, finding local favorites, and selecting the best dishes all over the world…

St. John Bread & Wine

Chef Fergus Henderson's St. John Bread & Wine, the marginally less formal sister restaurant of St. John in Clerkenwell, has a bakery, a wine shop, and a nose-to-tail menu (94 Commercial St.; 20-3301-8069; entrées from $16).

Madrid may be smack in the center of the country, but the best seafood gets flown here first. O'Pazo is a more formal shrine to the sea with a spacious modern dining room and a Michelin star. The rice with carabineros is simply the best rice dish in the world (Calle de la Reina Mercedes 20; 553-2333; entrées from $30). —Julia Reed

"Each dish in the long parade [at Agapé Substance] was, amazingly, as delicious as it was inventive‚ and beautiful to behold. We were eating little masterpieces not only of seasonal flavors and textures, but also of shapes and colors." —Klara Glowczewska

Even after a number of visits, one gets lost looking for this restaurant, which may explain why it remains an insider's gem even though it's just a short stroll from the Rialto. Once you find it, though, you feel like you are part of a small, bustling club of fellow unpretentious foodies. Standouts include fried soft-shell crab with delicious fried eggplant sliversseasonal vegetables and daily fish specials like John Dory or simply grilled branzino (1911 San Polo; 39-041-524-0165). —Ondine Cohane

Mango Sticky Rice

Hot weather signals ice cream time in many parts of the world, but summer is mango season in Thailand. An abundance of this sweet fruit means one dish is at nearly every restaurant, local market, and street vendor's cart through mid-July: mango and sticky rice, or khao neeo mamuang.

This simple dish pairs mango (usually the juicier nam dawk mai and ok rong varieties) with sticky rice that has absorbed coconut milk; the dessert is then is topped by more salted and sweetened coconut milk, and sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds. What makes one mango sticky rice stand out from the rest? It’s all about temperature: Contrary to what you might expect from a summer treat, you want the coconut milk topping and rice to be warm when served. —Jessica Beaton

You supply the picnic (a hotel box lunch and minibar drinks will do), and the captains at Dok Dok Felucca will steer you on a felucca, an ancient type of lateen sailboat, still in common use. Dok Dok's feluccas have cushioned benches surrounding a central table where you can lay out your feast. The going rate is about 50 Egyptian pounds ($8.50) per hour, plus a tip for the two crewmen, who tack between the Kasr Al Nil and University bridges and are used to clients‚ both Egyptians and non-Arabic-speaking expats‚ who bring a bottle of wine. The experience is best at sunset; boats operate from late morning until midnight (El Nil St., just across from the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza hotel; no phone). —Susan Hack